0 items cart 
Monday, August 4, 2008
Ummmm…..I don’t know what part of this sounded good at the time, but I went for a quick ride the other day with just flip flops on. I’ve been demoing some new mountain bikes – Santa Cruz Nomad / Rocky Mtn Slayer / Scott Ransom – and for some reason didn’t have shoes here at our offices. But I thought “no biggie” as it was just a quick mellow ride past the Truckee River Regional park along the Truckee river out toward the poop plant.
Well, Murphy’s Law always kicks in eventually, and just one wrong calculation on the peddle up-stroke between some rocks and……
Labels: Chappy, Mountain Bike, Toe
Yea, agreed. It's not even the injury itself that is so revolting: it's the fleshy bloated-corpse look of the rest of the toe that makes me want to barf onto my laptop. Thanks a lot Chappy!
ChappyYou're all welcome...
:)
johnnylazzRAWWW DAWGY!!!
Links to this post:
<< Home
Friday, July 25, 2008
This past Wednesday evening Momma C treated Chappy and myself to some twilight golf at the Ponderosa Golf course here in Truckee CA. Quick side note, Ponderosa was purchased last year by the Truckee Airport and is now maintained by the Truckee Parks and Rec. Twilight starts around 2 or 2:30 and costs $20, which is a great price for golf around here. The course was in great shape and you could even plug your ball on a few of the greens. Ponderosa offers easy fairways and decent sized greens. If your looking for an affordable golf course in Truckee swing on over.
Now, to the match at hand. We started off a bit slow trying to make sure Momma had the right equipment. For some reason Harley, her husband, had given her a ski glove in exchange for her old golf glove and telling her that the ski glove was a much better golf glove. UM? REALLY? so we fixed that issue and off we went. Momma's second shot off the first tee afforded us our next giggle. Momma reached down, with tee in hand and started to tee up her ball for her second shot. We quickly reviewed the rules and proceeded. Chappy spent most of the round shaking some rust off but give him a few more rounds and He should be firing some decent rounds.
Another quick note, 50/50 Brewing Co. is right next to the 9th fairway and with Chappy in tow that's where is attention span on golf started to wane. So as soon as we finished Chappy had already made up his mind and headed to our next stop of the evening. We here at Porters Love 50/50, ok so its a Brewing Co. and yes we like beer but they make the most killer Ahi BLT. If you are ever in Truckee go to 50/50 drink their beer (I personally love the Rockslide IPA) and eat an AHI BLT!!! Thank you Momma and Chappy for an entertaining Wednesday evening.
Labels: 50/50 Brewing Co, Chappy, Fiffty Fiffty Brewing Co, Momma C, Ponderosa Golf Course, Truckee
Their "Manifesto Pale Ale" just won the Gold Medal for Amber Ale's in all of California! Also, say hey to fellow Porter's employee Alicia behind the bar!
Links to this post:
<< Home
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 16
So with no more helicopter and no more pilot and Dean from Syd’s in Tahoe City and Gardner from the Boulder’s in Truckee needing to get home so that they still had wives to come home to, we decided that it was time to pull the plug and head back to Tahoe.
However, we were able to squeeze in one more quick, awesome adventure by going up for a little tourist-style, sightseeing plane ride. Our pilot Drake took us over the north end of Glacier Bay and out to 15,325 ft. Mount Fairweather at the edge of the Alaskan panhandle and British Columbia. The views were amazing even though there was a little haze in the sky. It certainly gave you a bird’s eye perspective of all the terrain around Haines, Alaska. Drake not only gives tours in the summer for people wanting to see Glacier Bay from above, but he also services skiers and snowboarders looking for terrain beyond the zones where the heli can take you. And for the really hearty? Every spring he has a few groups looking for overnight and extended, multi-day glacier trips deep in the backcountry of southeast Alaska. Quite coincidentally he had actually just dropped one off a few days ago that included guys from Tahoe. Maybe next year we’ll throw that into the mix as well…
However, we were able to squeeze in one more quick, awesome adventure by going up for a little tourist-style, sightseeing plane ride. Our pilot Drake took us over the north end of Glacier Bay and out to 15,325 ft. Mount Fairweather at the edge of the Alaskan panhandle and British Columbia. The views were amazing even though there was a little haze in the sky. It certainly gave you a bird’s eye perspective of all the terrain around Haines, Alaska. Drake not only gives tours in the summer for people wanting to see Glacier Bay from above, but he also services skiers and snowboarders looking for terrain beyond the zones where the heli can take you. And for the really hearty? Every spring he has a few groups looking for overnight and extended, multi-day glacier trips deep in the backcountry of southeast Alaska. Quite coincidentally he had actually just dropped one off a few days ago that included guys from Tahoe. Maybe next year we’ll throw that into the mix as well…
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, Travel
Monday, April 28, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 15/16
That dinner put me over the top into a crab coma. I tried to hang as much as possible with all of the crew upstairs in the bar at the Fort Seward Lodge, but about 1am I was ready to throw in the towel so I made my way down to my room and crawled into bed.
About 3:30am, though, I happened to roll over and open my eyes……and my ears. Damn it if Sunny and the crew weren’t still raging upstairs. With a fresh nap under my belt now, I went back in for round two. They had dwindled to about a dozen or so, but they were going strong with DJ Tom Wayes blaring the Metallica and Crüe and G’nR. Even the resident Alaskan Malamute “Darwin” joined in the action….albeit to vacuum up any crab remains that fell off the table!
With each day adding like 5 minutes or something crazy right now, even in the two weeks that we’ve been here it’s pretty darn noticeable. By about 5am it was starting to lighten up so I went and took a couple of cool pics. The shot that I got later back up in the bar with the full-blown sunrise is priceless.
Only in Haines….
About 3:30am, though, I happened to roll over and open my eyes……and my ears. Damn it if Sunny and the crew weren’t still raging upstairs. With a fresh nap under my belt now, I went back in for round two. They had dwindled to about a dozen or so, but they were going strong with DJ Tom Wayes blaring the Metallica and Crüe and G’nR. Even the resident Alaskan Malamute “Darwin” joined in the action….albeit to vacuum up any crab remains that fell off the table!
With each day adding like 5 minutes or something crazy right now, even in the two weeks that we’ve been here it’s pretty darn noticeable. By about 5am it was starting to lighten up so I went and took a couple of cool pics. The shot that I got later back up in the bar with the full-blown sunrise is priceless.
Only in Haines….
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, Travel
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 15
Crab. Crab. Crab. And more crab. I have never devoured so much crab in one sitting.
But that’s getting ahead of myself.
So we woke up for what was hopefully going to be the 4th day of heli only to find a nasty layer of milky blah hanging over us. We decided to commander the infamous Haines, AK Sundowner that’s been in several ski and snowboard movies and go crabbin’ ‘n shootin’. Unfortunately – or fortunately however you wanna look at it (who really cares when you’re in heaven since you can wake up and do it all over again like Groundhog Day) – we were having such a good time cruising the Lynn Canal looking at the glassy ocean and awesome views and sea lions, and crabs, crabs, crabs, we missed out on one last gasp of either heli or snowmobiling. In hindsight we shouldn’t have sent the pilot and the bird on its way for the season, but at several “G” a day and with several film crews pulling the plug and the rapid warm up and snow deterriation, we had to make that decision in the morning before getting on the boat.
All told, we pulled 44 crabs out of a half of a dozen pots or so. After setting some new pots and doing a little fishing, we emptied our pockets of all the shells we had accumulated in Haines the last two weeks. We then pulled back into the harbor for some very dramatic photo opportunities. Unlike Gilligan’s Island, our three-hour tour ended with us back at the Fort Seward Lodge, Restaurant & Saloon to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And what a slugfest that turned out to be.
mmmmmmmmmmm……..
But that’s getting ahead of myself.
So we woke up for what was hopefully going to be the 4th day of heli only to find a nasty layer of milky blah hanging over us. We decided to commander the infamous Haines, AK Sundowner that’s been in several ski and snowboard movies and go crabbin’ ‘n shootin’. Unfortunately – or fortunately however you wanna look at it (who really cares when you’re in heaven since you can wake up and do it all over again like Groundhog Day) – we were having such a good time cruising the Lynn Canal looking at the glassy ocean and awesome views and sea lions, and crabs, crabs, crabs, we missed out on one last gasp of either heli or snowmobiling. In hindsight we shouldn’t have sent the pilot and the bird on its way for the season, but at several “G” a day and with several film crews pulling the plug and the rapid warm up and snow deterriation, we had to make that decision in the morning before getting on the boat.
All told, we pulled 44 crabs out of a half of a dozen pots or so. After setting some new pots and doing a little fishing, we emptied our pockets of all the shells we had accumulated in Haines the last two weeks. We then pulled back into the harbor for some very dramatic photo opportunities. Unlike Gilligan’s Island, our three-hour tour ended with us back at the Fort Seward Lodge, Restaurant & Saloon to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And what a slugfest that turned out to be.
mmmmmmmmmmm……..
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, Travel
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Did I say that we were at Heaven yesterday? Well, we went back for a second look just to confirm.
Yep. It’s Heaven alright.
If you ever have the chance to spend an open-ended stay – or at least 10 days – at the Fort Seward Lodge & Saloon with “Sunny” and Kim from Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures (SEABA – www.skiseaba.com ), follow Nike’s lead and “Just Do It.”
I should type like 4 pages worth but I just don’t have it in me. Today was as bluebird as it gets, as warm and sunny as it gets, and well, just as good as it gets out there in the Back 40 of Haines, AK.
I’m gonna let the pics do the talkin’ today….
xoxo
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, Travel
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 13
If you believe in any form of a Heaven – I swear that we were there today. Think of taking the stretch of Sierra Nevada mountains from Sugar Bowl to Anderson Peak to Tinker Knob and then scooping up all of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows and continuing right on past Twin Peaks and through Blackwood Canyon and down to Homewood. Now think if that stretch had ZERO trees on it and how differently you’d ride each and every feature and spine and chute and cornice and headwall between those four ski resorts and all the downright delicious backcountry terrain in between. Then put it all on steroids. And quite often we’re talking A LOT of steroids. Chute 75? Munchkins? The Palisades? How ‘bout all three in the SAME run…….twice over……and only a dozen other people you have to share it with…..oh yeah…..and you have a helicopter as your private chair lift?!
Be on the lookout for tomorrow’s post as I finally got my V.I.O. helmet cam situation straightened out and am planning on going out with it today….
And happy April 20th for those counting!
Be on the lookout for tomorrow’s post as I finally got my V.I.O. helmet cam situation straightened out and am planning on going out with it today….
And happy April 20th for those counting!
Labels: Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, Ski, Snowboard, Travel
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 12 Bluebird Heli & Mohawks
Let the games officially begin.
Not only did we finally get some heli time with our awesome SEABA crew led by Scott “Sunny” Sundberg, but we definitely put a nice cherry on top with our late evening fun.
So the Rage film crew did the dawn patrol mission – led again by Salomon’s Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad. We drove out to 18 Mile to the backyard heli landing pad about 9am and were up in the helicopter by 10am. After Sunny did a snow pit, we cautiously moved from zone to zone throughout the day. We did get one pretty good slab to break – about a 3 foot crown, 50 – 75 yards across, and a couple hundred yards long. Other than that bit of excitement in light of the other day’s full burial avalanche, the day went pretty well for the first time making turns in almost 2 weeks. We definitely eased into things with our runs yesterday, though, both in getting our legs back under us as well as with the avy conditions. It certainly made for some good Haines, AK Chamber of Commerce postcard views to say the least.
As a bonus member to Team Tahoe, our dear friend Billy Jacobs of the Jacobs’ family who used to own Spyder for years hopped on a plane full last-minute style to come join us. So he was waiting for us back in the bar at Fort Seward Lodge where we’re staying when we pulled back in. Way to throw down Billy…...(and thank you Stacey J for letting Triple B come play with us!!).
To really top it off? Why not give the handsome ringleader for the whole circus Dave “Sergeant” Gardner a mohawk???
Now we’re talking……
Not only did we finally get some heli time with our awesome SEABA crew led by Scott “Sunny” Sundberg, but we definitely put a nice cherry on top with our late evening fun.
So the Rage film crew did the dawn patrol mission – led again by Salomon’s Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad. We drove out to 18 Mile to the backyard heli landing pad about 9am and were up in the helicopter by 10am. After Sunny did a snow pit, we cautiously moved from zone to zone throughout the day. We did get one pretty good slab to break – about a 3 foot crown, 50 – 75 yards across, and a couple hundred yards long. Other than that bit of excitement in light of the other day’s full burial avalanche, the day went pretty well for the first time making turns in almost 2 weeks. We definitely eased into things with our runs yesterday, though, both in getting our legs back under us as well as with the avy conditions. It certainly made for some good Haines, AK Chamber of Commerce postcard views to say the least.
As a bonus member to Team Tahoe, our dear friend Billy Jacobs of the Jacobs’ family who used to own Spyder for years hopped on a plane full last-minute style to come join us. So he was waiting for us back in the bar at Fort Seward Lodge where we’re staying when we pulled back in. Way to throw down Billy…...(and thank you Stacey J for letting Triple B come play with us!!).
To really top it off? Why not give the handsome ringleader for the whole circus Dave “Sergeant” Gardner a mohawk???
Now we’re talking……
Labels: Alaska, Alaska Mountains, Chappy, Heli Skiing, Snowboard, Travel
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Day 11
So after several soggy days, Thursday finally cleared up enough to venture out. We got a light dusting of snow overnight all the way into town, but the winds were still howling so we passed on any heli time and instead went up to investigate snow quality and stability on the snowmobiles.
Not too stable let me tell you. A crew of kids from Utah went up in the bird later in the day and set off a major slide complete with a full 4:30 sec burial and dig out that was captured on helmet cam. It's the most amazing avy footage / rescue that I've ever seen. I don't think that they 've posted it anywhere yet, but be on the lookout. I'll surely have more to write about this later.
We set off a small but decent size slide ourselves out poking around on a wind-loaded slab up on Old Faithful where SEABA does their cat skiing. You should’ve seen how fast Daron Rahlves was zipping away from the zone on his sled as soon as he saw the slide start. That jet skiing background sure comes in handy!!
So not much else to report, other than it’s cold and deep and we’re really hoping that this high pressure that’s going to park itself over us will not only finally bring bluebird conditions but also kick out the competing low that was creating the tight pressure gradient and the dreaded wind. Everything is coming together for some pretty good conditions, so it looks like game on...
mmmmmmmm
Not too stable let me tell you. A crew of kids from Utah went up in the bird later in the day and set off a major slide complete with a full 4:30 sec burial and dig out that was captured on helmet cam. It's the most amazing avy footage / rescue that I've ever seen. I don't think that they 've posted it anywhere yet, but be on the lookout. I'll surely have more to write about this later.
We set off a small but decent size slide ourselves out poking around on a wind-loaded slab up on Old Faithful where SEABA does their cat skiing. You should’ve seen how fast Daron Rahlves was zipping away from the zone on his sled as soon as he saw the slide start. That jet skiing background sure comes in handy!!
So not much else to report, other than it’s cold and deep and we’re really hoping that this high pressure that’s going to park itself over us will not only finally bring bluebird conditions but also kick out the competing low that was creating the tight pressure gradient and the dreaded wind. Everything is coming together for some pretty good conditions, so it looks like game on...
mmmmmmmm
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Haines AK, Heli Skiing, snowmobiling
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled & Gun Lovefest 2008
Guns, guns, and more guns. That about sums up our last 48 hours here in Haines, AK. Well…..that and another impressive bell-ringing session at the Fog Cutter by K2’s Seth Morrison the other night. Burton’s Gigi Rüf and Romain De Marchi were in good ol’ boy form gettin’ rowdy with the locals too.
No skiing, snowboarding, or even snowmobiling to speak of lately – it’s been that poopy and rainy. No wait, we actually did a “fire drill” yesterday and suited up – even to the point of driving to the airport fully locked ‘n loaded. The first group to go up included semi-permanent Tahoe residents and Salomon big mountain skiers Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad. Unfortunately they triggered a decent size slide and with visibility getting worse and the winds picking up ahead of the next wave of energy approaching the area the decision was made to pull the plug for any more heli that day.
So what next? Why not shoot some more? And better yet, why not buy a .44?
On another note, today should be the last down day. We might even get in an afternoon session if Mother Nature cooperates. If not, we’ll try to do some reconnaissance on the sleds and get ready for it being on starting Friday….
xoxo
No skiing, snowboarding, or even snowmobiling to speak of lately – it’s been that poopy and rainy. No wait, we actually did a “fire drill” yesterday and suited up – even to the point of driving to the airport fully locked ‘n loaded. The first group to go up included semi-permanent Tahoe residents and Salomon big mountain skiers Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad. Unfortunately they triggered a decent size slide and with visibility getting worse and the winds picking up ahead of the next wave of energy approaching the area the decision was made to pull the plug for any more heli that day.
So what next? Why not shoot some more? And better yet, why not buy a .44?
On another note, today should be the last down day. We might even get in an afternoon session if Mother Nature cooperates. If not, we’ll try to do some reconnaissance on the sleds and get ready for it being on starting Friday….
xoxo
Labels: .44, Alaska, Chappy, Guns, Haines AK
Monday, April 14, 2008
Chappy's Daily Alaska Heli & Sled Lovefest 2008 - Days 5 - 7 Sleddin 'n Drinkin
So I’ve been in Haines, AK for three days now. Typical weather pattern up here – and why we brought the sleds – as we haven’t been in the bird yet at all. Daron Rahlves and Tom Wayes went up once to do some recon but it’s still been too socked in with low light. It rained pretty good in town Saturday as this is the switchover time from winter to spring thaw and mud up here. But that means, of course, that the powder continues to pile up. So it’s why if you’re going to come to Alaska you should really be prepared to stay longer than you might think – like a good 10 days at least.
We’ve been snowmobiling two days now – Friday and Sunday – and it was a storm day on Saturday so it was an official “down day”. I should show you the pictures from the “ringing the bell” spectacle that went down Friday night at the Pioneer bar – when half the big mountain freeskiing community was in the bar – but I guess you have to remember to take them in the first place. Sorry ‘bout that. Seth Morrison’s bar tab alone could’ve been close to $1,000…
But I do have a few lazy Saturday afternoon shots at the Harbor Bar shooting pool with Michelle Parker and Daron Rahlves? Oh, and it was little Michelle’s 21st birthday last week so we did a belated birthday dinner.
Oh - one other quite random and interesting deal. Pro Snowmobiler and Red Bull athlete Ross Mercer is up here right now building huge booters in the backcountry.....and he's got the Red Bull snowcat and ramp. We ran into him in the middle of nowhere driving the cat. He's going to try a DOUBLE back flip on a sled.........@#%&*$!
Well here are some pics from the last couple of days…..
We’ve been snowmobiling two days now – Friday and Sunday – and it was a storm day on Saturday so it was an official “down day”. I should show you the pictures from the “ringing the bell” spectacle that went down Friday night at the Pioneer bar – when half the big mountain freeskiing community was in the bar – but I guess you have to remember to take them in the first place. Sorry ‘bout that. Seth Morrison’s bar tab alone could’ve been close to $1,000…
But I do have a few lazy Saturday afternoon shots at the Harbor Bar shooting pool with Michelle Parker and Daron Rahlves? Oh, and it was little Michelle’s 21st birthday last week so we did a belated birthday dinner.
Oh - one other quite random and interesting deal. Pro Snowmobiler and Red Bull athlete Ross Mercer is up here right now building huge booters in the backcountry.....and he's got the Red Bull snowcat and ramp. We ran into him in the middle of nowhere driving the cat. He's going to try a DOUBLE back flip on a sled.........@#%&*$!
Well here are some pics from the last couple of days…..
Labels: Alaska, Chappy, Daron Rahlves, Haines AK, Michelle Parker, Seth Morrison, Snowmobile